The DOI matches its Crossref record; 281 of the 285 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Illusion and well‐being: A social psychological perspective on mental health
Abstract
Many prominent theorists have argued that accurate perceptions of the self, the world, and the future are essential for mental health. Yet considerable research evidence suggests that overly positive selfevaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism are characteristic of normal human thought. Moreover, these illusions appear to promote other criteria of mental health, including the ability to care about others, the ability to be happy or contented, and the ability to engage in productive and creative work. These strategies may succeed, in large part, because both the social world and cognitive-processing mechanisms impose filters on incoming information that distort it in a positive direction; negative information may be isolated and represented in as unthreatening a manner as possible. These positive illusions may be especially useful when an individual receives negative feedback or is otherwise threatened and may be especially adaptive under these circumstances. Decades of psychological wisdom have established contact with reality as a hallmark of mental health. In this view, the wcU-adjusted person is thought to engage in accurate reality testing, whereas the individual whose vision is clouded by illusion is regarded as vulnerable to, if not already a victim of, mental illness. Despite its plausibility, this viewpoint is increasingly difficult to maintain (cf. Lazarus, 1983). A substantial amount of research testifies to the prevalence of illusion in normal human
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“Healthy individuals, in contrast, have a preferential bias toward positive stimuli (Gotlib et al., 2004; Reidy, 2004) that is associated with a wide range of adaptive qualities and greater well-being (Taylor and Brown, 1988; Scheier et al., 2001).”
From Mindfulness Training Alters Emotional Memory Recall Compared to Active Controls: Support for an Emotional Information Processing Model of Mindfulness (2012) · cites this paper as Taylor and Brown, 1988
In the citing paper
“Associations have been found between trait positivity biases and well-being in both cross-sectional and prospective studies”
From Mindfulness Training Alters Emotional Memory Recall Compared to Active Controls: Support for an Emotional Information Processing Model of Mindfulness (2012) · cites this paper as Taylor and Brown, 1988
In the citing paper
“Positive self-concept is viewed as an essential component of mental health (Taylor and Brown, 1988).”
From Self-concept, illness acceptance and depressive and anxiety symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis. (2021) · cites this paper as Taylor and Brown, 1988
In the citing paper
“The validity of retrospective recall on the more subtle aspect of family life and relationships have been found to be less than satisfactory (Taylor and Brown, 1988).”
From A Systematic Review of “Helicopter Parenting” and Its Relationship With Anxiety and Depression (2022) · cites this paper as Taylor and Brown, 1988
In the citing paper
“One factor seems to be the ability to self-enhance”
From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Taylor & Brown, 1988
In the citing paper
“For example, a large literature has demonstrated the positive role of PSE in promoting subjective well-being [9, 23, 24].”
From Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem (2017) · cites this paper as [23]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D.
- ORCID
- Brown, Jonathon D.
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1988
- Volume
- 103
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 193-210
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2171975196
- Semantic Scholar
- 3331a6d8daa55975dfab8e35f91b42157eb1a2e8
- Cited by
- 7,814
- References
- 285
- Citations by year
- 2026: 129 · 2025: 142 · 2024: 179 · 2023: 212 · 2022: 226 · 2021: 244 · 2020: 222 · 2019: 260 · 2018: 249 · 2017: 265 · 2016: 273 · 2015: 306 · 2014: 304 · 2013: 276 · 2012: 284
- FWCI
- 141.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH 00311)
- National Cancer Institute (CA-36409)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- positive illusions, mental health, well-being, self-perception, optimism, perceived control, reality testing, cognitive distortions
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Attitude to Health, Humans, Illusions, Reality Testing, Self Concept
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